This came in today... It is my New 270 amp DC Power Alt (200 amp at idle). I got it to replace the constantly failing Mechman hunk o junk. Right off the bat I notice this thing weighs at least 10#'s heavier. Robbie went 50/50 with me to get it to me overnight from California. He did not have to do that so it is much appreicated. It does look a little more complicated of an install due to a lot more detailed wiring harness that came with it, without instructions .... I'm sure that he will let me know what goes where with a phone call.. I paid an extra $50 for the internally regulated model which guarntees my voltage will charge to the 14.9-15.1v range. And unlike Mechmans warnings about not putting it to heavy use for over 10 mins at a time (or a song or two), he promised that I can put as much drainage load for as long as I could handle it on this alt, without any issues.. That being said I do not intend to abuse this alt. I just expect it to handle any normal useage w/o failure.... Mechman DID NOT by any means.. I will give more reviews after installation.. Also added 3 C+D Tech Batts in place of the SVR's I was running... Big difference even with factory alt... Never dropped below 11.5 no matter how long I kept the bass pumpin'.. Keep in mind that the 132 amp factory alt only charges to 13.1 v at the most. and is regulated by thePCM... Terrible Design flaw.
Nice Mark! I was thinking about getting a DC Power after I couldn't figure out the Mechman alt, but all is good now and I love the alt. Put that ish in.
I know of 3 people who dropped Mechman due to multiple failures of their equipment.. If a drive from Lake Charles to Lafayette (~80 miles) with radio and amps completely unhooked (i never play anything through the subs the day of a competition) is too hard on a $500+ alternator and it overheats (for the 3rd time).... I don't think it's worth its weight in dog shiit... It worked great when it was functioning.. Had I known from the get-go that he is beefing up a ford 4G alternator, I would have passed to begin with.
Again, I will not say anything bad about Mechman as far as customer service and communication.. When I sent my alt to them it was repaired and shipped the same day all 5 times (except the last time in which it was repaired and never shipped and eventually disappeared- he was truthful about the situation and sent me a brand new one and told me that this was the last he would repair under warantee. I sold the new one as new and got the Alt that I should have gotten to begin with)
But I am interested to know why you would pay extra to get a internal regulator model..... external regulators are usually considered the superior design as they are adjustable.
I paidextra for the internal regulator as opposed to the Jeep factory setup. Which would not have a regulator at all. The Voltage is controlled by the PCM as I stated in the last sentence of my first post. I could have paid even more for the external regulator, but I don't forsee running a multiple alt setup. I haven't found any dual alt brackets and would probably have to make my own... This is one reason that I am considering changing to a Chevy SUV.
Hunter, I paid the same price I paid for my Mechman. Well that was before the $50 upgrade. He gave me $100 off the original price.
and yeh just cause you get a external regulator doesnt mean its for dual alt setups. because actually the standard blue case ext volt reg used by most of the companies carrues a 15 amp dray. my MECHMAN alt rotar is 7.5 or 8 amp's(cant remember at this second) so either way i wouldnt be able to control two alts with one regulator. you would be over doing the regulator...now if the DC rotator is as beefy as it should be(which im not doubting) then you would run into the same problem
but the plus of having the volt regulator is u can pull into the lane...set ur idle up to 2000rpms' THEN turn ur voltage up to say 15.3-15.4 and make ur burp. turn the reg back down to id say around 14.0-14.4.
the reason being for that is because the big batteries like the D3100 or 2400 etc require a 15-20 amp to maintain a 15.0 charge. so say you got 5 of the big batts theres a 100 amp draw already just to keep them charged at 15.0 then you have your system playing, car running, and any other accs.
now at 14.0-14.4 it only draws roughly 5 amps per big batt. and well i guess you get my point from there
I know that Dual Alts is not the only reason to have an external regulator. But that would be my use for it to run a 16v+ setup daily.. I
I got the install done and the alt does what it is supposed to do. 14.9-15.0v 13.5 is about as low as the voltage drops when I have the volume turned up. Pain in the @ss to install, but worth it so far.
ohh i see...heres a trick for ya, but only works in the lanes
so you have your stock wire going from the alt. to the battery, then to the truck right?
then you have your 1/0 going from your alt to your battery then to the rest.
well you run your 1/0 wire from the alt str8t to your battery bank. but also have a 1/0 going from alt to your front battery. when you pull into the lane you unhook the wire going from your alt to your front battery. then turn up your voltage. this away your truck is running off your front battery for a 30 secs to a minute. no harm done. and then u can run a 16v setup and still be daily(just gotta have two battery banks i reckon?)
good luck... this has givin me zero problems as of yet.. thankjfully... Plus i'm not worried about how long i keep the volume cranked like I was with the Mechman alt.
depending on how many cpu controlled equipment in your vehicle you could charge your stuff at 16 volts and be fine, in a CRX you could even charge 16.5 and be fine :D
